


Sugar Hunt

by raptormoon



Series: Hope is a Cheap Thing [2]
Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Sugar, Sweet, Trick or Treating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 04:09:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12573376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raptormoon/pseuds/raptormoon
Summary: In which a very young Tamatoa learns about the wonderful food known as "sugar."And then wants more.





	Sugar Hunt

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!
> 
> The original trick-or-treater. You saw it here first, folks!

The morning dawned a wonderful, clear, warm day. Tamatoa could feel the warmth of the sun soaking into his shell and claws as the golden rays landed upon the spot he and Maui slept. He was curled up on Maui’s chest, safe and warm, as the demigod slept like a (snoring) rock within the fale. The warm night had warranted leaving the fale open to the dark air, and now daylight marched its way in to announce the day.

Tamatoa squeezed his eyes more tightly closed before slowly opening them. Sleepily, he glanced around, then looked to Maui as the demigod snored again. His antennae twitched; what an awful sound. Without really thinking about it, he reached up and pinched Maui on one of the little nubs on his chest, hoping to wake his friend enough to stop the snoring.

“YAAH!” Maui sat up with a shriek, hands scrabbling at his chest, wavy hair flying helter skelter. The jarring movement woke Tamatoa completely, and he loosened his grip in surprise, a yelp of his own escaping him as he slid down Maui’s chest and into his lap.

“Hey!” he complained, pouting from his new position atop Maui’s legs.

Heaving for breath and wild-eyed, hands clasped protectively over that little nub, Maui finally looked down at the little crab.

“Hey yourself!” he retorted. “Remember the rule about no pinching?”

Tamatoa pouted harder and added a glare, as well. “But you were _snoring!_ ”

Maui’s expression darkened into a glare of his own, and he finally moved his hands to cross his arms over his chest. “Tama _toa_ . You _know_ th-”

“Good morning!”

They both looked over at the interruption, only to find a young girl from the village peeking in. “It’s flower-picking day! Come on!” She motioned them forward with a wave, then turned and bolted away.

Maui blinked after her. “That girl was way too cheerful for so early in the morning,” he grumbled.

Tamatoa side-eyed him, curious about what she had said but trying to downplay it, the earlier mishap completely forgotten. “What did she mean, flower-picking day? They pick flowers every day.” He clicked his pincers idly and wiggled his tail against his shell, creating a curious chirp.

Maui sighed and rubbed his face, mumbling about how he already wished he could be done with children for the day.

Tamatoa watched the exasperation building and decided to change the subject. He knew how touchy Maui could get before eating. “Never mind, we’ll find out later. Come on! Let’s go get some breakfast!”

Maui chuckled, hands still over his face, but as they came away Tamatoa could see him smiling. “Alright, alright. I’m up, I’m up.” He yawned and stretched, and caught Tamatoa up as he stood, depositing the young crab on his shoulder. Together they left the fale and went to see what they would find in the village.

~~~

It was actually still rather early for many persons in the village. Several villagers were up and about for the day, but quite a few dwellings were still closed up and dark. Maui exchanged pleasantries with a few of them while walking toward the grand fale. Tamatoa watched from his comfy spot on the demigod’s shoulder, higher up than most of the villagers. Around them, and nearly everywhere in the village, children of all ages ran around with a bubbly aura of anticipation. The feeling was catching, too, as Tamatoa soon found himself tapping his legs against Maui’s skin, excitement building up inside, even if he didn’t know what exactly everyone was getting so excited about.

Breakfast was a quick affair of fruit and fermented fish. Maui talked with some of the grown-up villagers, and an older boy openly sniggered insults not far away, but Tamatoa opted to ignore them all entirely in favor of stuffing his face as quickly as possible and surreptitiously storing a few morsels inside the back of his shell. Even the pickled eel he barely slowed down long enough to taste. He finished with a long slurp of coconut water, then announced his plans to Maui. “I’m going outside!” He quickly scuttled away.

“Oh no you don’t!” he heard Maui call behind him, and suddenly felt himself being scooped up by Maui’s large hands. He chirped angrily and tried to squirm free, but his shiny shell had been hooked and he wasn’t going to leave it just to get away from his demigod.

Instead, he began to whine. “Mmmaaauuuiiiii!!!”

“Nuh-uh,” Maui replied. “Not right now. Those kids are too wound up to see you, and you’re too wound up to be careful.” He pulled Tamatoa close and set him up on his shoulder again.

“Not true!” Tamatoa protested, and began scaling down Maui’s back, where those large hands couldn’t reach him. “I just wanna find out what’s going on!” At waist-height he launched himself down, but Maui spun - why was he always so fast?! - and caught him up once more. Tamatoa chirped again in anger, and a small, warbling growl rose in his throat.

“Yeah, I could tell you weren’t paying any attention,” Maui remarked dryly, manhandling Tamatoa around to hold the crab in front of his chest again as Tamatoa kicked his legs and snapped his claws with loud clicks. Before he could get any words out, however, Maui spoke again. “Today the villagers are going to be harvesting some coconut flowers to make sugar.”

“I don’t know what that means!” Tamatoa wailed, frustration building as he continued to struggle in Maui’s grip. He wanted _down!_

He heard Maui sigh from behind him. “They’re making the stuff that makes food sweet,” he said, an edge of irritation in his voice.

But the magic words had been spoken. Tamatoa fell still, and swivelled his eyes around to look up at Maui. “I like sweet food,” he whispered.

Maui raised an eyebrow at him. “I know."

He seemed to be waiting for something more, so Tamatoa asked, “Can we go too?”

Maui smirked. “We’ve already been invited.”

~~~

Tamatoa did not entirely understand (at all) the explanations given, about how to only pick so many flowers, and which ones, and from which trees. Maui nodded along, though, and as Tamatoa had settled into his new perch atop Maui’s head, he simply enjoyed the tilting ride instead, giggling every time Maui’s head dipped down.

However, once everyone actually got to the task of climbing trees and cutting flowers, he quickly grew bored. The flowers on these trees were long (longer than him!) and kind of fluffy-looking, but didn’t do anything interesting. Some of the places he’d been with Maui, there were extraordinary flowers! Some that even _ate_ things! But these, no. Just swayed a bit in the breeze, or were sliced off the tree and placed in a basket.

Hmm, actually, there were a lot there in that basket…. Tamatoa’s antennae twitched, claws clicked, and before he’d even finished the thought he reached down, snagged one of the flowers, and pulled it up for inspection. It looked… pretty boring, really. His antennae danced along the long bloom, smelling it. Not bad. He stuck out his tongue and licked it. Not sweet, bleh! He held it away from his face, offended, but in doing so the cut tip of the stem snagged into Maui’s hair.

Wait a minute…. Quickly, Tamatoa snatched up another flower and stuck that into Maui’s hair, as well. Then he fell into giggles, ignoring the curious grunt from his demigod. The two lengthy flowers were placed just-so, poking out of the hair and leaning back, arching over Tamatoa’s body and seashell. As Tamatoa took in the sight he’d made, his giggles burst into a full gale of laughter.

“Tama? What’s going on up there, buddy?” Maui asked, maybe a little apprehensive but not truly worried.

“You have antenna like me!” Tamatoa cackled, and poked at the flowers to make them wave around. Their movement made him giggle all over again.

Maui paused his harvesting, and tilted his head side to side, testing the weight of his hair. The movement also sent Tamatoa careening, and he screeched with glee as he grabbed onto the head of hair beneath himself to keep from sliding off.

Finally Maui chuckled. “Did you put flowers in my hair?” he asked, teasing.

“Yes!” Tamatoa all but shouted, laughing even more. He brought his pincers up to the sides of his face and pushed in, squeezing his cheeks, trying to keep himself from laughing so hard; and failing spectacularly. “You look like me but so silly!”

“What, are you saying you _don’t_ look silly?” Maui asked him, mischief in his voice.

“Of course not!” But his giggles grew even louder. “Wait, I mean yes, of course I’m not silly! Maui! _You’re_ silly!”

Maui nodded his head at that, slowly, and Tamatoa shrieked again as he went for a ride. When the demigod spoke, it was with the same intonation as the sages (Tamatoa just thought they were _old_ ) back in the village. “But if I’m silly, and I look like you, then it follows that you, too, are silly.”

“That’s not how it works!” Tamatoa grabbed another coconut flower and shoved that, too, into Maui’s hair. “There, now you _don’t_ look like me but you _still_ look silly!”

The demigod chuckled again and got back to work. “If you say so, Tamatoa. Are you going to help at all while you’re up here with me?”

Intrigued, the small crab hung down the front of Maui’s face to look him, upside-down, in the eyes. “What _can_ I do?”

Maui glanced at him and smiled. “Count how many flowers we have so far?”

Tamatoa rolled his eyes, “Pfft! Counting is easy! We have…” he glanced back, saw the several in the basket and the three still stuck in Maui’s hair, “more than three. What _else_ can I do?”

Maui laughed. “Want to try cutting flowers yourself?”

Tamatoa looked at the flowers still on the tree, then at his very small claw, then at the stone blade Maui was using, nearly as long as his whole body. He deflated. “I don’t think I can.”

“What?” Maui asked, exaggeratingly taken aback. “I _know_ you can, buddy! Here,” he pointed to the next flower. “See this flower? See the stem? All the way down at the bottom, it’s weak there.”

Tamatoa eyed the spot Maui was describing with open skepticism; it didn’t look thin or wilty or seamed or anything. He looked at his demigod again, and was met with an encouraging nod. With a mental shrug he clambered down Maui’s face (ignoring Maui’s protest) and over to his shoulder, before scuttling across his arm to where the hand held onto the tree. Then up and around, to the discussed flower, where he eyed it for a long moment before bringing his pincers up to grab it.

He pinched. He pulled. He tugged, and twisted. Maui encouraged him throughout, even as the demigod continued to slice the flowers off with ease. Determined, Tamatoa kept at it, even as his frustration grew. He wrangled the coconut flower for long minutes, not noticing when Maui stopped his work and began merely watching. When even attempting to saw through the stem didn’t work, Tamatoa growled and looked back at Maui. The demigod was watching him with wide eyes, mouth agape, and for a moment Tamatoa was confused.

“I’m sorry!” Maui gushed. “That must be the toughest flower on the tree! I thought for sure you’d be through it in no time! Here,” and he motioned Tamatoa back before bringing his knife up to the stalk, “let me try.” And Maui, too, tried ever-so-hard to slice that flower off, grunting and groaning to great comedic effect. Tamatoa giggled, pleased to see that even a powerful demigod with a knife couldn’t pick this particular flower. Mollified, Tamatoa jumped from the tree trunk back onto Maui’s head, knocking the flowers still in his hair askew and digging his leg points into the squishy scalp to hold himself steady.

Finally, Maui sighed, and shook his head slowly. “It’s no use, Tamatoa. Even I cannot harvest this particular flower. I guess it gets to go about its business, and we’ll just have to go about ours.” He tucked his knife away and began a controlled slide down, Tamatoa whooping in delight.

On the ground once more, Maui hefted his bag and joined the stream of people making their way back to the village. “So what’s next?” Tamatoa asked, glancing around at all of the many baskets all chock full of coconut flowers. “How do we turn these into… what was it again? ‘Shoe-grr?’”

“Sugar,” Maui corrected, the hint of laughter in his voice. He side-stepped as an excited child sped by, weaving through the crowd. “We’ll borrow a pot and evaporate the water out of the sap. Then we’ll have sugar left over!”

But Tamatoa frowned. “But pots are for putting over a fire.” He didn’t like fires, too hot!

Maui shrugged. “Yes, well, that’s the fastest way. Sorry buddy. But hey, you wouldn’t want to watch it anyway. Watching a pot boil is pretty boring.” They entered the village then and zig-zagged their way through the busy villagers until they came to an open area, where several small firepits had been temporarily set up and small stone pots were set near each.

Tamatoa watched from his perch high atop Maui’s head; from here, he was head and shoulders above everyone else and he was afforded quite the view. Children were everywhere, here, helping adults squeeze the flowers over the pots. Looking closely, he could see the sticky sap drizzling out.

He had not been paying attention to Maui again, so when the demigod plopped down to sit by an unoccupied firepit he was caught by surprise. Undaunted, he leapt off of Maui’s head and circled back around, watching silently as Maui took a flower, sliced a horizontal slit just beneath the bloom, and began squeezing. Slowly at first, then with a little more speed, the sap began to ooze out of the green plant and into the stone pot.

“That I can definitely help with!” he decided.

Maui chuckled. “Sounds good! Alright, you keep squeezing this one, I’ll get the next ready.”

The demigod’s knee was at a convenient height for Tamatoa, so after a quick scuttle up he took the flower in his claws and began squeezing. It was fun but sticky work, he soon discovered. Between flowers, he would lick his claws. _This_ part was tasty, at least! Not super-super sweet but good enough for tree sap.

Soon all of their flowers had been squeezed, and Maui bent to start the fire going. “Here comes the boring part, Tamatoa. And the fire. You can run off and play, but keep your eyes open and antennae up - it’s still busy out there.”

Tamatoa grinned, pulling one pincer up over his eyes before waving it back out in a short salute. “Will do! Bye Maui!” And with that, he scuttled off.

It was indeed very busy in the village, and he was much smaller than the humans, so he kept close to the buildings and out from underfoot. It seemed like everyone was doing something with the flowers, carrying them into the village or carrying empty baskets back out, or sitting around cookpots, either in the center of the village with Maui or around private cookfires near their own fales. He caught sight of a woman he recognized, one who had hung around Maui a lot the last time they had been on this island. Now she and her small son were working hard around their fire, squeezing flower sap into a pot over hot coals, but they had an extra basket, tightly woven, off to the side.

Tamatoa’s curiosity was piqued. He skittered over, antennae up and eyes open just like Maui had told him. “Hi there!” he called as he got closer, not wanting to take any humans by surprise (a lesson he had already learned). “What’s in the basket?”

The woman glanced up and smiled, her son looked up and waved cheerily. “Tomotoa! Hi!”

Tamatoa drew closer, and thought about correcting the kid about his name, but he didn’t know the kid’s name _at all_ , so he thought maybe he should just leave it alone. “What’s in the basket?”

“That the done sugar!”

Tamatoa peeked in and saw a pile of what looked like very shiny sand. “The what now?”

The woman laughed. “In the basket is our first batch of finished sugar, Tamatoa.” She smiled at him, then glanced at her son. “You may both have one, teeny tiny taste of it.”

The little boy’s eyes widened comically. “ _Really?!_ ” he asked, voice barely louder than a whisper. Tamatoa looked from the boy to the woman and back again, excitement once again bubbling up within, even without knowing what, exactly, he was in for.

Tamatoa watched as the boy reached his fist out, a single digit extended, then carefully dipped it into the pile of not-sand and lifted it back out. He put his sugar-speckled finger into his mouth and pursed his lips around it, “mmmm”ing in pleasure and letting his eyes slip closed. Well, that looked nice. Tamatoa knew that this sugar stuff made food taste sweet, so it should taste sweet too… but the sap had only been kind of sweet, and the flower not sweet at all. What good would cooking it actually do?

Only one way to find out.

Slowly, he dipped his pincer into the basket, opened his claw just a little to catch a few grains of sparkling sugar, then withdrew. He brought it up to his mouth and licked.

 _Whoa_. The world brightened around him. His antennae twitched spastically. He licked some more off of his pincer. _Whooaaa!_ It was _delicious!_ So sweet! It was pure, nothing-else-there sweetness, right there on his tongue, a few more grains of it on his claw… and oh, look, a whole basket of it just right there.

He started to dip his claw in again, but stopped as a harsh “Ah, ah!” cracked through the air. He looked at the woman again, saw her shaking a finger, though her smile belied the harsh tone. “ _One_ taste, Tamatoa. We need to save the rest for putting into other foods!”

He blinked at her, then pulled his claw back. That’s right, sugar was meant to make other foods taste sweet. But why bother when it was the sweetest thing he’d ever tasted? Why waste that on other food? Okay maybe variety was nice, but still? Why only one taste?

Wait, maybe it wouldn’t have to be _only_ one taste, if he could get one taste from everybody making sugar. He looked around, but despite the hustle and bustle there were only a few other humans with baskets right next to their firepits.

Better than nothing. He looked back to the woman and her son, giving them both his biggest, most charming smile. “Thank you very much! Your sugar is delicious! I’mma go now!”

Without waiting for a reply, he hurried off to the next basket, vaguely greeting its owner before peering in. Wait a minute - it was empty! His antennae swept up in surprise, and he looked over to the human stirring a stick in the pot. It must not be quite done, he realized, and wilted.

He was going to have to wait.

Grudgingly, he made his way back to Maui’s side and flopped down behind the demigod’s hip, keeping the bulky body between him and the fire.

“I thought you’d be gone longer,” Maui quipped. He had an empty basket nearby, as well, and it only made Tamatoa feel even more depressed.

“Why aren’t more people done making sugar?” he asked, morosely.

“It’s not like it’s a fast process, you know,” Maui answered.

“But that woman from last time had a whole basket of it! She let me and her son taste it!”

“Last time?” Maui questioned, and reached a stick into his pot to stir.

“You know, that lady hanging around you all the time, last time we were on this island? I don’t think she had a baby then, though. Anyway, she was done making some, and she let me taste it, and Maui! It was so good!” He was caught between joy and enthusiasm at just how delicious the sugar had been, and being put out that he couldn’t have any more _right now_.

He didn’t notice when Maui stiffened, but Tamatoa _did_ notice when the demigod stood abruptly. “Maui? What’s up?”

The stirring stick got shoved into his face, and he grasped it reflexively. “You stir. I need to, uh… I’ll be right back.” With a worried, harried look, Maui turned around and rushed off.

“Wait! Maui!” But just like that, the demigod was gone. Annoyed and confused, Tamatoa looked at the stick in his claw, then at the hot pile of rocks, then the pot full of sugar sap. He couldn’t even _reach_ that high, what was Maui thinking?! But, there was sugar in there. Would it burn? He stepped closer, then a little closer, but the heat was too uncomfortable; he scuttled back, grumbling, and squeezed the stirring stick hard enough it _almost_ cracked. Then, annoyed at everything, he pulled back into his shell right there in the grass and started a good, solid sulk.

Not. Fair. He just wanted a little bit more sugar! Just one more taste! Maybe two! Definitely not more than three. Probably.

But he had to wait. Wait for who-knows how long. What if he had to wait all day?

And where did Maui run off to like that?!

Tamatoa grumbled some more, and rubbed his tail against his seashell in an irritated chirp.

It was well past noon by now. He wasn’t particularly close to the firepit, but close enough that some of the heat seeped in through his shell. It was actually pretty cozy. Well, Tamatoa knew one way to pass the time. He reached back into the far spiral of his seashell and pulled out the nibbles he’d had stored away, then ate them lazily. Then, stomach full, he closed his eyes and napped.

~~~

Tamatoa awoke to a swaying motion. His first groggy thought was that he must have dozed off down in the hold of his and Maui’s canoe. But the motion wasn’t quite right, and as the haze of sleep fell away he remembered that they were staying on an island for a while. Blinking heavily, he peeked one eye out of his shell and looked around. He found himself level with Maui’s chest, one large arm wrapped around his shell and holding him against the demigod’s body. He was being carried, he realized.

He pushed himself a little further out, glancing around and realizing the sky was almost fully dark. “Maui?” he questioned, trying to rub the sleep out of his eye with one claw.

Maui looked down at him with a smile. “Heya, buddy,” he said, softly. “Enjoy your nap?”

He began nodding, then stopped as memory caught up to him. “Wait! The sugar! Where is it?”

“Right here,” Maui answered casually, shrugging his shoulder and the basket strap slung over it.

Relieved, Tamatoa relaxed, slumping against Maui’s chest. “Where did you go anyway?”

“I, uh, had to go say ‘hi’ to somebody.” Tamatoa could tell that wasn’t all of it.

“You mean that lady and her son?” What was so special about them, that trumped making _sugar?_

“...Yeah. And I met his father, too! It was great catching up!” Maui sounded a little awkward, but he didn’t bother to look back up to investigate.

“I couldn’t reach the pot to stir it, you know,” Tamatoa grumbled. “ _I_ could have told you that they were just fine! Then you wouldn’t have needed to run off!”

“Sorry, Tamatoa.” And Maui did sound a little contrite now. “I had just realized that I hadn’t seen her in years and wanted to know if…  everything was okay. And it is. So no worries!”

However, his mind switching tracks back to his priorities, Tamatoa was well past interest in Maui’s behavior and far more interested in what lurked in the basket over that shoulder. “So, the sugar is all okay?”

“It is!” Maui confirmed brightly, apparently relieved to change subjects.

“It didn’t burn or anything?”

“Nope!”

Excitement lit up his nerves again. “Can I have some?!” He started to scale up Maui’s chest, pulling free of the demigod’s hold.

“Nope again!” The hand on his shell tightened, holding him in place, the cheerful tone incongruent with the harsh denial.

That excitement fizzled out quickly. “But-!”

“No buts, Tamatoa! Sugar is delicious, I know, but that doesn’t mean you get to eat some whenever you want.”

Tamatoa strongly disagreed with that sentiment.

Maui continued. “It’s not the easiest thing to make and there are only so many times each year it can be done, so it’s pretty rare. Besides, we’ll be making a gift of our share to the chief, and she’ll distribute it through the village. It’ll be a thank-you gift when we leave.”

Tamatoa was floored. They were gonna just _give_ all of their apparently-precious sugar away? To everyone?! How unfair! He helped make it! He should get to have some too!

That thought sparked an idea, however. ‘Thank-you gifts’ were like paying things back, right? So if everyone in the village was going to get some of _his_ sugar, then it would be fair trade to get some of theirs, right?

That lady had given him a taste. What if _everyone_ gave him one little taste? Then he’d have lots of little tastes, and everyone would get paid back when that basket of sugar went to the chief.

“You’re awfully quiet all of a sudden,” Maui interrupted his thoughts. “It’s a little worrying.”

Uh oh, Maui was onto him. “Nothing!” he squeaked, beaming up at Maui. “I’m just so happy that we’ll be making everyone else happy!”

Maui actually looked down at him, and raised an eyebrow. “What are you thinking, Tamatoa?” he asked, in his Serious Voice.

“I think lots of things! Right now I’m thinking about, uh…” he trailed off, faltering. He couldn’t tell Maui the truth, he knew his demigod wouldn’t approve! “About… how... “ He looked around, but nothing caught his attention! Okay, okay, maybe a _half_ truth. “About how sweet and yummy sugar is!”

“Tamatoa.” Oh no, Maui had just escalated to the Very Serious Voice.

“I mean it!” Tamatoa insisted, and bat his eyes to prove it. “Sugar is so good! I’m happy everyone is going to get some!” Including me!

Maui looked like he wanted to say more, but they had reached the guest fale by then. It was even darker now, just a few slivers of sunlight cutting through and the first torches being lit. Maui slung the basket down, letting it rest against a support post, then set Tamatoa onto the ground. Sensing that the conversation wasn’t done, Tamatoa stayed where he was, looking up at Maui and idly tapping one leg.

Maui straightened and placed his hands on his hips, and took a deep breath like he was about to give Tamatoa a lecture. But he only held his breath for a long moment before letting it out in an explosive sigh, letting his arms hang loose and shaking his head.

“You know what? Fine. How much trouble can you get yourself into, anyway?”

Tamatoa grinned.

~~~

He didn’t even try to sneak out. He knew Maui had an eye on him the whole evening, as he prepared dinner and completed the usual nighttime routines. There was no way Tamatoa was going to just slip out.

Instead, after eating and tucking away a few nibbles for later, he jauntily called “See you later!” and strolled out as nonchalantly as he could. He heard Maui snort behind him.

Ok. First thing’s first: he needed a disguise. He couldn’t go and ask for sugar from everyone just to turn around and replace it. What would be the point? It would just be silly. No, if he and Maui were gonna look good giving away their sugar to everyone else, then there needed to be a good reason for it. Like, say, if a giant monster were to take the sugar away in the first place. Then he and Maui would graciously donate their basket and be seen as heroes!

Disguise it is. But what did a giant monster look like?

Tamatoa paced back and forth in the dark night, just outside the ring of light from the nearest torch.  He had seen Maui battling monsters before. They were usually just big animals with a few extra eyes or legs or spikes. He twisted his eyestalks to look over himself. How could he make himself look bigger, and with extra appendages?

He looked beyond, his eyes falling on the flower-gathering basket and the few flowers that had been cast aside at the firepit. His pincers clicked in glee. The basket went atop his shell, making it look even _bigger_. He had to rearrange it a little bit until his antennae and eyestalks could fit underneath one of the handle loops, and the handle across his face he figured would make him look even more imposing. The leftover flowers he artfully poked into the weave of the basket, much as he had poked them into Maui’s hair earlier. It made him look like like he had lots of antennae, or maybe like he was very spiky! The flowers wiggled a bit every time he moved, but otherwise stayed where he stuck them.

Before long, a very large, many-wobbly-spiked crab monster scuttled its way over to the entrance of the first dwelling on the way into the village, a small, tightly-woven basket clutched tightly in its too-small claws. He tapped loudly on a post, and when a woman from inside appeared in the doorway he lifted the basket up.

“Rrrr!” he growled. “I am a giant hungry monster! Give me some sugar or I’ll do bad things!”

The woman looked at him for a long time, eyes wide. Very obviously frightened. Suddenly she clapped a hand over her mouth and bent over, and Tamatoa could hear her sucking in deep gulps of air.

Yes, he was very frightening, indeed. He shook his basket, impatient.

She looked back at him, the corners of her eyes tilted up. “Oh, fearsome monster! Please give me a moment and I will bring you a little bit, right away!” Without waiting for a response, she ducked back inside.

Tamatoa could hear murmurs and laughter from inside, but within moments the woman returned with her hands cupped, a few extra faces peeking out the doorway behind her. One of them sniggered, and Tamatoa glared, but he quickly brought his attention back to the woman as she held out her hands. “Here you are, fearsome monster! Be appeased!” And she dumped half a handful of sugar into his basket.

Tamatoa’s eyes grew wide. That had been easy!

“Thank you!” he chirped. “Have a good evening!” Maui always said it was important to be polite.

Then he was off to the next residence, a soft echo of laughter trailing behind him.

He knocked at the post of this house, and waited even less time until a man poked his head out. A look of confusion crossed his features and he opened his mouth as though to say something, but Tamatoa interrupted before he could get anything out. “Roar! I am a giant, fearsome, and very _hungry_ monster! Give me some of your sugar or I’ll be very obnoxious!”

The man blinked at him, stupefied. Tamatoa was starting to think his costume was even better than intended!

A quiet snort left the man before he, too, ducked back inside. Again Tamatoa could hear low speaking and muffled laughter before several faces poked back out. The man stepped back forward and dumped a _whole_ handful of sugar into his basket. Tamatoa grinned widely. Everything was going according to plan!

“Much appreciated!” he called, then hurried off to the next house, eager to fill his basket to the brim.

The pattern continued, Tamatoa scuttling from home to home in the village, knocking and demanding sugar in lieu of mischief. Each and every time he was admired, revered, and appeased, and his basket steadily grew fuller and fuller with sugar.

He approached the next dwelling with a certain degree of glee. His plan really was working! The villagers were all giving him little bits of sugar, and it was all adding up to a lot! His basket was starting to get heavy, even.

He knocked at the post, and prepared to deliver his lines, a grin stretching his face. But when this villager stepped out, Tamatoa felt something had veered off-course, because the expression on _this_ man was open hostility.

“Get out of here, filthy monster pest!” he spat, words, spittle, and vitriol all flying everywhere.

Tamatoa backed up quickly, alarmed and confused. What the what, now? After staring for a beat, Tamatoa simply tried again, with much less confidence than before.

“I, uh… I'm the-”

“I don't care what you say you are!” the man interrupted. “You are an unnatural blight on our village. You may have the others fooled, but I know what you really are. Your presence with Maui demeans him, as well. Now go! Monster!”

Truly fearful now, Tamatoa turned and scuttled off.

Maybe his costume was _too_ good.

Once far from that fale, and much closer to the last few remaining in the village, he stopped. What had that even been about? Why would that man speak so frankly to a terrifying monster - wouldn’t he be afraid? Or, maybe he hadn’t actually been afraid; even with the costume, Tamatoa was still rather small compared to humans, even the young ones. That would change someday, he was sure of it!

But for now… what gives? What was wrong with that guy? If he wasn’t afraid of the monster Tamatoa had been pretending to be, then he must have known it was really Tamatoa.

Which meant he’d said those things about _him. Personally._

Anger curled through Tamatoa at the thought, the insults replaying in his head. A _blight_ , was he? Filthy pest? Demeaning Maui?

Oh, that man was gonna pay. He clicked his pincers decisively, but then looked ahead to the home in front of him.

Later. That guy would pay later. For now, Tamatoa had a few more people to shake down for sugar.

~~~

By the time Tamatoa had finished his rounds through the village, his basket was overflowing with sugar. He sat down not far from the last home and stuck his claw into the pile of glittering white, lifting it out carefully and licking the sweet, shiny grains off. He hummed in ecstasy - bliss! So much pure sweetness, right there on the tip of his tongue. He stuck his claw in again, pleased to see even more sugar sticking to it now that it was wet. He licked again, his eyes falling shut in glee and a tremor running through his body and up to the tips of his antennae. The sweet taste washed over his tongue and rushed through his body limb from limb.

It was such a wonderful, blissful moment for Tamatoa; it rivalled even his happiest memories, even the foggy ones from before meeting Maui.

He kept at it for a few minutes before resorting to licking the sugar straight out of the basket, in a hurry to get it to a more manageable level. The incredible taste certainly didn’t hurt! The heavy sweetness was settling into his belly, making him giddy and twitchy. He giggled, again trying to squish his cheeks in to help keep himself from laughing too loudly. It was just so good! And he had so much of it! All to himself!

So pleased with himself, Tamatoa almost forgot about the man who had insulted him. _Almost_. He was slowly carrying his basket of sugar back through the village to where he and Maui slept, and if he hadn’t passed by that fale again on the way home, the night would have gone very differently. But he did pass by, and recent memory struck a sharp blow to his happiness.

Right. _That_ guy. That guy was gonna _pay_.

He paused a moment in front of the dwelling to send a glare its way, hoping the occupants would feel an icy chill down their backs, before he continued on. It was slow going, the basket small but full. It was heavy for his pincers to keep carrying, especially with the larger basket and flowers attached to his shell adding their own weight. But the sugar he had eaten gave him such energy! Every time he slowed down, he would look and see just how much more he had for eating, and the thought brought him so much giddy joy that he summoned up the energy to keep going. Sometimes he even took another lick, and that gave him even _more_ energy!

He was so ready to wreak havoc on that guy.

Tamatoa finally reached the guest fale, and heard snoring within. Perfect: If Maui was asleep, he couldn’t interfere in Tamatoa’s plans nor eat any of the sugar for himself. As quietly as he could manage, Tamatoa took his sugar-filled basket to the far side, where he kept his sleeping baskets and the trinkets he’d collected during their stay. His sugar basket would blend in perfectly there. He then tossed the large flowered basket that he had worn aside. The costume would only be in the way, now. A few more slurps of sugar off of his claw, to feed his empty belly and bolster his energy, and he was ready to go!

The moon was a few days past full, but the night was still quite bright. Tamatoa slunk back out under the dark sky and quickly made for the fale of the man who had insulted him. He didn’t _quite_ know what he was going to do; a punishment that fit the crime, to be sure. The dwelling was quiet as he approached, and no lights from inside spilled out. The young crab sat nearby, watching it, clicking a pincer idly and wondering what would be the most fitting revenge.

He wanted to yell and shout and call the man out, begin an argument and talk him into a corner. He’d probably win, too. But it was too direct, and he knew he wouldn’t get any satisfaction out of arguing with a mortal. He thought next about damaging the house: A few snips here and there would loosen a beam, make the roof leak in the next rain. But those ropes were tough, and he knew that they could take him a while to sever, even with _his_ amazing pincers. Besides, there were probably other people who lived there, too, and Tamatoa didn’t want to injure anybody who didn’t deserve it.

Then, it came to him. He had been out to gather sugar, and this dweeb was the only one who didn’t give him any. So Tamatoa would just have to _take_ it!

Decided in his plan of action, Tamatoa sprang to his feet and scuttled around from the entryway of the fale. It was closed off all around with tapa cloths, but that meant very little to him. Antennae waving forward, he zeroed in on the quietest side of the building, and carefully climbed up to edge to the wooden floor. He paused there, listening intently for human movement and testing the air for the sweet smell of sugar. He could detect neither from here. Slowly, he poked his antenna under the tapa; he was met with no reaction but also muted smells, so next he reached his eyestalks under. It wasn’t hard, small as he was, and when he had visual confirmation that everyone inside was sound asleep, he eased his whole body and seashell into the fale. Antennae flicking around, and eyes peeking into every dark shadow, Tamatoa was soon able to locate the sugar storage.

There was one basket of it, set in among other baskets full of different foodstuffs. It was a little more full of the sweet stuff than what he and Maui had brought back home.

It was _way_ more than Tamatoa could carry.

Suddenly flummoxed, Tamatoa stood there, contemplating. He could find another basket, perhaps, and make several trips. But that would take a while, and he’d be so tired by the end of it. He was honestly not sure if the revenge and the sugar were worth that effort.

He could eat the sugar right then and there, but doing so quietly in an enemy’s house… well, on the one hand, it would be _very_ sneaky, but it would also diminish his enjoyment of the sugar.

Tamatoa glanced back at the sleeping humans. There was the man, the jerk who had said such nasty things. But also there was a woman, probably his wife. No woman on this island had been mean to Tamatoa, so he couldn’t hold her husband against her. And, around them, were many children. He looked at them all, and suddenly noticed that one of the kids was the bully from breakfast.

Well, that decided it. A wonderful woman or not, there were also two jerks in one fale. Yeah, no, that whole basket of sugar was _his_ , thank you very much, and maybe the younger kids would take this as a lesson to never diss your local demigod OR his best friend crab.

Looking around, he noticed that there were several empty baskets stacked alongside the full ones. Tamatoa grabbed the biggest basket he could handle, and carefully shovelled sugar from the big basket into the little one. When it was full, he grabbed another and filled it as well. Then another. And another, until the large sugar basket was light enough to drag.

These were too many to take back home. He’d spend all night just carrying them, and that simply wouldn’t do. He tapped a claw against his chin for a moment, thinking. Where could he take these baskets and enjoy his sugar in peace?

He grinned. Why not right under their noses?

Step one. He cast another look at the sleeping humans before quickly making his way back out. He veered, and went underneath the fale. Then, he began to dig. He took care to dig a little wider than usual, but not so big any half-grown human could follow. He went deep, too, deeper than any light would shine come daylight. When he was comfortably ensconced in dark, damp earth, he hollowed out a little den just big enough for him and all of those baskets of sugar.

As accomplished a tunneler as Tamatoa was, it took him no time at all to create a hole that perfectly suited his needs.

Step two. He made quick work of dragging all of those many, sparkly-sugar-filled baskets down into his tunnel with him, neatly arranging them along the walls of his little earthen cavern.

Step three. Tamatoa’s grin stretched wide. Too easy! What a simple matter it had been to exhort and steal sugar from these villagers! And they were even gonna get paid back (even those dweebs up above) so no harm done. Tamatoa could now enjoy his spoils in peace.

He licked his claw and dipped it into the first basket. His antennae twitched as the sweet smell permeated his little room. Finally, he began to eat.

 

~~~

 

The morning dawned bright and clear. The sun’s rays fell upon Maui’s closed eyes, calling him back from deep slumber. He yawned, and stretched. There was no weight on his chest this morning, which was unusual but not so much so he was alarmed. Maui knew that Tamatoa enjoyed the night, and sometimes stayed out larking around in the dark and quiet by himself. Maui savored mornings like these, though, when he could wake and rise at his own pace with no-one interrupting his thoughts or making demands.

When a loud pounding on the post of his fale rang through the quiet morning air, however, the lovely, quiet peace shattered.

“Maui! Demigod or not, you can’t let your pet monster run wild like this!”

Well, so much for that.

He groaned and brought his hands up to rub the sleep out of his eyes, flexing his abdominal muscles to sit up. He yawned, and blearily looked out the open doorway. There stood one of the villagers, some tight-ass he’d barely had the patience to speak with. He couldn’t even remember the guy’s name.

The man had a dark expression of annoyance mixed with anger, his complexion darkened, probably from frowning so forcefully. Maui briefly entertained the notion of chucking him into the ocean to cool down. Probably wouldn’t do much for village relations, though.

Instead, he sighed and stood. “Tamatoa is just a little crab. Can’t even pinch that hard yet. What could he possibly have done that’s gotten you all worked up?”

The man’s eyes narrowed, anger flaring bright across his face. “He snuck into my home and stole from my family!” He pointed back behind himself.

Maui raised an eyebrow. Tamatoa was not usually the most well-behaved child on any given island, but stealing? “Are you sure it was him?”

“Absolutely,” the man fumed. “He was going from home to home last night with a basket over him, asking for everyone’s sugar. I refused him. When I awoke this morning, all of it was gone!” He stamped his foot demonstratively.

Maui’s other eyebrow rose to join the first. This sounded like a story he needed to hear from the crab himself- if it was even him who had stolen the sugar. He motioned the man to calm down. “Okay, okay. Lead the way. I’ll help you figure out what happened.”

The man looked like he wanted to say more - adamantly insist, probably - but he turned in a huff and stormed off. A feeling a trepidation creeping up his back, Maui followed.

Once at the man’s fale, Maui had to concede that somebody certainly had stolen sugar from him. The tightly-woven basket that would have held the sugar was gone, and there was a fair sprinkling of sugar grains scattered across the floor. Maui rubbed the back of his neck, not wanting to get embroiled in community drama when he was planning to leave soon. “Alright, but aside from Tamatoa going house to house and _asking_ , what makes you think it was him that stole yours?”

The stormy expression upon the man’s face only grew, and he openly sneered at Maui. “He is a monster. That is what monsters do.”

Irritation flashed through Maui, but he kept it in check. “Plenty of humans steal, too.”

“None of the other villagers would steal from me. We are a small group and know each other too well.”

Well, that was probably true. Maui had to concede that point. But still, there was a glaring lack of _proof_ that his little Tamatoa had been the culprit.

“Well, let me find him and see what he knows about it,” he said, firmly. The man opened his mouth to say something back but Maui smoothly talked over him. “You go about your day. I’ll get to the bottom of this one way or another.”

Expression even worse than before, the man hesitated for only a moment before turning and storming out of his own home, muttering under his breath what Maui was sure was an unflattering litany of insults directed both at him and at Tamatoa.

Maui sighed, and looked around the fale. The other occupants had long since gone about their own activities, so he stood alone in a stranger’s home. Most of the things inside were obviously undisturbed aside from general use, neat and tidy. Only the food storage baskets were in disarray. Sugar was spilled all around, and as Maui looked, he saw that the spillage trailed toward the tapa-mat wall opposite the doorway. He followed it and jumped down from the wooden platform floor, and looked around. Nothing nearby looked disturbed, but there was a little sugar under his feet. He looked down at it, perplexed, before slowly turning around and crouching to look underneath the fale’s floor.

There was a little hole right in the center. Just the right size for a certain crab he knew. Maui sighed.

“Tamatoa?” he called out, not raising his voice lest he call the attention of any humans who happened to still be nearby.

A moment of silence passed.

“...Maui?” a tiny, warbling voice called back up to him.

“Whatcha’ doing in there, buddy?”

“....Nothin’....” was the soft, timid response.

“You wanna come out?”

“Is that cranky dweeb still there?”

Maui snorted. “Nah, he’s gone now.”

A long minute later, a pale and lethargic crab finally emerged from the hole. Tamatoa’s eyestalks and antennae were drooping, the tips of the latter dragging on the ground beside him. He held his claws limply as though they were heavy. All in all, he did not look at all happy.

“You okay there, buddy?” he asked, concern rising.

“...I might throw up,” Tamatoa answered, rather glumly.

Maui pulled back in surprise. “What? Why’s that?”

Tamatoa inched closer and flopped down, laying his head onto Maui’s foot. “I ate all the sugar,” he confessed.

Maui snorted again in disbelief before quickly realizing Tamatoa was telling the truth. Uh oh. “All of this guy’s sugar?”

Tamatoa nodded, then shook his head, rubbing his cheek against the foot beneath him. “All that and all the other.”

“What other sugar?”

“The stuff that the other villagers gave me.”

Well, this was new. Maui chuckled a little. “Did you wear a basket?” he asked.

“Yeah. It was a good disguise.” Tamatoa’s eyes slipped closed and he sighed. “I’m definitely gonna throw up.”

Maui outright laughed at that, and reached down to rub a finger along the little point of his friend’s face. “Probably for the best, buddy. You ate more than your weight in sugar. That can’t be healthy.”

Tamatoa groaned. Maui scooped him up and started a slow walk back to their own fale.

Well, it was a first. Tamatoa had stolen from a human. That guy kinda deserved it, Maui couldn’t help but think, but still. However, the little crab in his arms was obviously paying the price for that transgression, and Maui couldn’t bring himself to be mad about it. He would have to direct that energy elsewhere in the future, but for now he was going let his friend get away with it.

They reached the guest fale and Maui settled Tamatoa gently into one of the little crab’s sleeping baskets, then snagged another and set it right next to him in case any of that sugar did come back up. And if that villager came back and demanded answers, well, Maui only had one sick little crab with him, and certainly not a sugar-stealing monster.

**Author's Note:**

> There was only so much info to be had on how to make coconut sugar. I had to make a few educated inferences. If I did screw up, I am deeply sorry. Please forgive the error.
> 
> That bit with the lady and her kid? Yeah, YOU get to decide what was going on there. XD It's not entirely pertinent until December!
> 
> Thanks for reading! Happy Halloween!


End file.
